Pope warns Mideast is spinning out of control
Pope John Paul II, in his yearly 'state of the world' address, said on Saturday that the Middle East crisis risked spinning out of control.
The Holy Father warned that anything could happen unless Israelis and Palestinians learned mutual respect.
Addressing diplomats from some 175 countries, he also said respect for the environment and the proper use of scientific advances would be vital in the new millennium or the world could become 'unliveable'.
In his comments on the Middle East, the Pope appeared to be more critical of Israel than of the Palestinians but the tone of his address was one of deep and general concern.
Referring to the violence in which began in September, the Pope said no one should be resigned to the fact that "a kind of guerrilla warfare has become an everyday event.Reuters